Ponting primed for a fight amid unfamiliar plight

One of the most bizarre aspects of this gob-smacking series has been the chant used by England's fans to salute every brief moment of ascendancy. "Easy, easy," they sing, when Matthew Hoggard takes a wicket or Marcus Trescothick strikes a four. Yet no team can have been made to work harder for their wins.

This is not so much down to England's lack of killer instinct - they have won 19 Tests out of 30 under Michael Vaughan, for goodness' sakes. The agonies suffered by players and punters alike are entirely due to the Australian national character. Put simply, these blokes scrap like rabid dingoes every time they go behind in a match.

Now that his team are behind in the series too, Ricky Ponting must hope that this same cussed resistance will surface in the first innings at the Oval, rather than the fourth. "We've seen over the final two days of this game that the fight was there," he said last night. "But it wasn't there for long enough. If we want to win Test matches we have to be at our best for four days."

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The position of the series, with England needing only a draw at the Oval to recapture the Ashes, could either crush Australia or liberate them to return to the free-wheeling assault that used to be their stock in trade.

Desperation drove their attack to new levels of ferocity yesterday. If Glenn McGrath reports fit, and they can get shot of the toothless Michael Kasprowicz, the Aussies will be more dangerous still next week.

"I've never been in this situation before, when we're going into the last Test having to win to draw the series," Ponting said last night. "But it might not be a bad thing for us, to tell the truth. Just to go out and play instinctively, play the brand of cricket we've played for a long time. There's almost a bit of pressure off now. If all the individuals just lift a little bit and play the way I know they can, I know the result will be different."

While Australia are keeping close counsel at the moment, they have plenty of grievances to motivate them: dodgy lbw decisions going against their batsmen, England's policy of using lithe young substitutes to give their galumphing fast bowlers a rest, even the disciplinary sentences that were due to be handed down by the match referee to Ponting and Simon Katich last night.

If Ponting was incandescent on Saturday after being run out by substitute Gary Pratt, Katich was no less furious after receiving a dreadful lbw decision yesterday. He was within his rights to feel aggrieved: the ball pitched outside leg stump and would have flown over the bails. But he swore from the middle to the pavilion gate, drenching the members' area in four-letter words. Both men were charged with dissent.

Vaughan was typically tactful last night when asked whether he thought the Aussies were rattled. "I'm not too sure," he said. "We've put them under pressure for sustained periods, not just for one session or half a day. Whether they're cracking, I'm not too sure. But I'm delighted that we're sustaining our performance because it really does take some doing, in terms of concentration and discipline levels."

Vaughan may have been admirably balanced in his press-conference responses, but the cameras captured his emotional reaction when he thought Ashley Giles had flicked the winning run - only for the ball to cannon straight into the thigh of Katich at short leg. While Vaughan always emphasises the importance of staying level in any circumstances, even he is not immune to finishes like those we have witnessed in the last three Tests.

"I don't think anyone who watched the previous matches would have come today and expected England to stroll to 130," Vaughan said. "But it helps in situations like that to have won a lot of games from tight positions. You just expect to get over the line.

"After the character that the guys have shown and their efforts over the last few days, I would have hated for them not to get there. Andrew Flintoff has been outstanding through the whole summer. He just keeps taking the painkillers and running in. He has become a real sporting hero."